Alexandra Eames

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Law & Order character
Detective Alexandra Eames
Time on show	2001-present
Succeeded	G. Lynn Bishop
Preceded	G. Lynn Bishop (as temporary replacement while on maternity leave)
First appearance	One
Last appearance	N/A
Portrayed by	Kathryn Erbe

Detective Alexandra Eames is a fictional character on the TV crime drama Law & Order: Criminal Intent, portrayed by Kathryn Erbe.

Eames is a police detective with Manhattan's Major Case Squad. She joined the NYPD to follow in the footsteps of her father, Johnny Eames, also a cop. She is partnered with Det. Robert Goren. Her pragmatic, analytical investigative style serves as a balance against Goren's often eccentric investigation and interrogation methods. She and Goren did not see eye-to-eye at first; puzzled by his interrogation methods, she asked her superior officer for a new partner. She soon learned to appreciate his investigative skill, however, and withdrew the request. Even though they sometimes disagree as to the best way to solve cases, Eames and Goren have a solid partnership in which Eames functions almost like an older sister.

It is stated in season one that Eames is the child of a family of cops. Her father was a detective who was dishonorably retired after being caught taking bribes. There are also conflicting statements about Eames' marital history. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune in 2001, Erbe said "Her husband was a cop who was killed in the line of duty. None of this you will probably hear in the show." (Chicago Tribune, Michael Kilian, November 1, 2001.) However, within the confines of the show, Eames has referred to more than one ex-husband. In The War at Home, Eames reveals she was once married to a man named Joe, who died eight years ago.

In 2003, Eames volunteered to serve as a surrogate mother for her sister's baby. Det. G. Lynn Bishop was brought in as Goren's partner while Eames was on maternity leave, and could only be seen working from her desk. While her pregnancy was, on the whole, a positive experience, Eames sometimes feels pangs of regret and emptiness for having given the child up. During an investigation of Goren's archnemesis, Nicole Wallace, the career criminal was able to detect Eames' vulnerability on the subject and mocked her for having "eggs ripe and ready for hire" in an attempt to throw off her concentration. Regardless of whatever regrets she has from the experience, however, she is consoled by a very close relationship with the child she carried, stating that she sees her nephew three times a week.

In 2005, she and Goren included Det. Mike Logan in a case they were investigating. This paved the way for Logan to join Major Case a few months later.

In 2006, she was kidnapped in the season premier episode "Blind Spot" by Jo Gage, the daughter of Dr. Declan Gage, Goren's mentor, in an attempt to get her father's attention. Jo was originally going to kill Eames. When talking to Goren in the hospital, Eames mentions that her kidnapper was trying to make her scream for help. When she revealed that she remained quiet, Goren told her that was likely what kept her alive. After the incident, Eames returned to duty, but (in the episode "Siren Call") she revealed that she is seeing a therapist to deal with the trauma.

[edit] Trivia

• Eames' badge number is 3798.
• In one episode, Eames mentions dating a man named Terry. This is a reference to Erbe's real-life husband, Terry Kinney.
• One of Eames' lines earned Criminal Intent the ire of former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. In this episode, the detectives were investigating someone for murdering judges who authored decisions they disagreed with, and Eames joked that they should be looking for "somebody in a Tom DeLay t-shirt" (DeLay had publicly rebuked the Supreme Court, while still Majority Leader, for refusing to hear the Terri Schiavo case). DeLay, not yet under indictment for conspiracy and money laundering and stripped of his post, complained to Universal Television President Jeff Zucker. Criminal Intent producer Dick Wolf sent out a press release stating, "These shows are works of fiction... but I do congratulate Congressman DeLay for switching the spotlight from his own problems to an episode of a television show."
• Eames has twice been forced to fire upon a suspect (onscreen), in episodes "Homo Homini Lupis" and "Proud Flesh".
• Eames's pregnancy was written into the show in order to coincide with Erbe's.